If You Need Me
by echoed-alias
Summary: It's basically a highschool!stuck AU that I kinda like, even if it's generic. Excuse my terrible writing,,
1. Chapter 1

Jocks sauntered past Dave, pushing and shoving against him to get through the hall leading out of the pool area to the change-rooms. He maintained a straight face, but gritted his teeth in contempt, keeping his distance from the group. He tried his best to ignore them as they called back to him.

"What's up, Albino Faggot?"

"You're not fooling anyone with that poker-face of yours, you dweeb!"

"Where are those stupid, pretentious shades you love so much?"

Dave felt rage welling up inside of him. He wanted so badly to yell back at them, to tell them how stupid they all were, to point out that they're the pretentious ones. But instead, he just trudged along, stopping briefly at the showers to let the stream of water gently wash the chlorine from his pale, freckled white skin. He continued on to the changing area, trying his best to keep his lean frame from shivering like a leaf as he walked. Eyes locked on the cement tiles beneath his feet, his face remained blank, but the tips of his ears flushed red as he did his best to ignore the half-naked men surrounding him on all sides. The assholes from before snickered amongst themselves. He hated swim class so much. All he wanted to do was go home and mix some sick beats with Bro, maybe order pizza. He felt so alone, but he knew he couldn't show any sign of weakness. So he did his best to silently slip into the changing stall with his dry clothes in hand. To avoid drawing attention to himself, he brought his legs up and cradled his knees as he sat meekly on the changing stool.

He slowly slipped off his candy-red swim trunks, and, as quickly as he could, replaced them with matching boxer briefs. Those douchebags had bashed in the stall door while he was changing earlier that week, and though the chances they'd be amused by the same prank twice were low, he figured he'd be better safe than sorry. He barely managed to put on his trademark long-sleeved shirt before hearing a knock on the stall door. His heart sank. "Occupied," he muttered.

"Dave, it's me!" He recognized the nasally, unnaturally cheerful voice, and gave a silent sigh of relief. "Are you almost done in there? Can I come in?" Muttered pejorative slurs resonated throughout the entire room, followed by muffled laughter. Dave glanced uneasily at his exposed legs. "Sure, whatever," he said, trying to keep the shakiness out of his voice. The door opened a crack and a short, slim figure slid in to the cramped stall. The door closed abruptly behind him.

His messy black hair came down over his sky-blue eyes in wet, stringy clumps. A white towel wrapped around his tiny neck and across his narrow shoulders. His square-framed glasses looked silly, fogged over so badly, he probably couldn't see a thing. The corners of his mouth were curled upward in a friendly smile, exposing his silly yet endearing overbite. He was wearing nothing but loose white boxers covered in a dorky slime ghost pattern_. Shit! He came in wearing nothing but __**that**__? They're going to laugh at me for weeks! Fuck, they're going to be making gay jokes until the end of time at this rate. Not to mention, he looks like a total doofus! They're never going to let either of us live this down._

"Dave, are you ok? You look nervous about something." He looked quizzically at Dave. _Holy fuck, how does he do that? Was I really that obvious? _ He covered his cheeks with his hands, hoping they hadn't turned beet red. "Fuck off, Egbert." Dave looked away, hoping he could recover from his slip-up. Nobody was allowed to see him for who he really was. Not even John. He bent down unwrapped the towel draped around his neck and stretched it out between his hands. Dave winced, expecting to be hit.

To his surprise, he felt a sudden warmth as John's body pressed itself against his, pulling him into his arms. John wrapped the towel over Dave's body and his own, gently resting his chin on Dave's shoulders.

"John, what the fuck." Dave reached down for the shades resting beside him on the stool, worried that his eyes might fill with tears. John was the only one who could break through his defenses like this. Even Bro couldn't phase him this much. John swatted his hand away pointedly. "Dave, you don't need those when you're with me. You can just be yourself," John whispered as he ran his hand up and down Dave's back soothingly. "No need to put on that coolkid act. I like you for who you really are."

He opened his mouth in protest, but, unable to think of a witty comeback, closed it again. He loved it when John held him. It made him feel safe. His skin felt soft and smooth against Dave's, his hands so gentle. Dave felt like such a wuss, letting Egbert see right through him like this. He wondered why he wasn't hearing laughter in the background anymore, when he suddenly realized the others had left already. Shit. He was going to miss out on lunch. But he didn't care anymore. He could stay like this forever.

He noticed that John was blushing slightly. "U-uhmm, hey there, dave," John stammered. Dave was confused for a moment, then looked down. He suddenly realized what John was talking about. His cheeks burned profusely.

"Oh, uhh.." Dave unlocked his arms from John's and backed away awkwardly. They both stared at the floor for a few seconds as they clumsily put on their jeans. It was Dave who finally broke the silence.

"Egbert, why don't you just ignore me or make fun of me like everyone else? Why don't you hate me?" _Fuck_. He'd let his guard down again. He cringed. John was silent for a moment as he slipped a baggy blue t-shirt over his un-tameable mess of hair. "Well," he began, choosing his words carefully.

"I don't want to make fun of you because there's nothing to make fun of. And I don't hate you, because…because I like you, Dave. I like you a lot!"

Dave looked up at him in surprise as John's eyes met his.

He immediately looked down again, and muttered a nearly inaudible "thanks".

John grinned at Dave. He stared blankly back, hoping he could hide how badly he wanted to jump back into his arms and never leave. He stuffed his wet swim trunks into his gym bag and abruptly placed his shades over his eyes.

They walked together until they reached the exit leading out of the school. Dave stood close to john, trying to hide the fact that they were holding hands behind his back. As they opened the doors, John turned to face Dave. "Oh, and one more thing.." He paused.

"Never forget. I'll always be there if you need me."


	2. Chapter 2

Dave turned on the TV and flopped down on the couch, sighing, as his muscles began to relax. He needed a moment to unwind, to relieve the stresses of the past week. The thugs In P.E. had been particularly cruel recently, and, though he didn't want to admit it, it was weighing on his conscience. He didn't want to care. He didn't want to give a shit. But he did.

The apartment was unusually quiet without Bro around. Clean, too. No smuppets lying messily about on the floors, no katanas impaling the furniture, no beats blaring from the boombox. Bro had left for a business trip up north, did a quick cleanup , and packed up a bunch of his shit in a suitcase before leaving. Much to Dave's relief, he took Lil' Cal with him, too. Bro never goes anywhere without Lil' Cal. It's just not a thing that he does.

Though Dave was happy to have the house to himself, something still didn't feel right. He thought maybe the TV would help him feel better, but it provided little comfort. A sick new Ben-Stiller/ Owen Wilson blockbuster was on, but Dave couldn't even work up enough enthusiasm to give it his full attention. He suddenly jolted upright. _If I can't enjoy a Stiller and Wilson flick, then something really IS wrong with me, _Dave thought. He slid back down into the cushions with a groan.

What could be wrong? His bro had fully stocked the fridge with apple juice and frozen pizza, he had the house to himself, and a whole weekend to enjoy. He thought maybe it was the weather. It _had _been pretty hot lately. He slowly undid the buttons on his flannel shirt, exposing the freckled, snow white flesh of his chest as he went . Not much better. He adjusted his belt slightly and slipped off his socks. Still nothing. _What the fuck is bothering me, _Dave wondered to himself. _It's not like anything happened recently that would…. _

His mind trailed off to earlier that week. Sitting patiently in the stall, hoping he would be left alone. Preparing himself for the punishing afternoon classes. And suddenly, he was in John's arms, feeling the softness of his skin, the tenderness of his hands. Safe. Strangely..happy. And then..

He suddenly remembered what happened next. "Shit," he muttered under his breath, . _What the hell was I doing, why was I…down there…fuck. This had better not fucking mean what I think it means. There is no fuckin' way. No. Fuckin'. Way. _

He rolled off of the couch , falling to the floor with a loud thud. _I can't have a thing for Egbert. I just can't. He's such an idiot. He's so scrawny and dorky, not to mention a self-proclaimed "film buff", whatever that means. I've known him for way, way too long to-_

Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door leading out of the apartment. Dave wondered who it could be. Bro's not the type to leave without letting his friends know. So who..?

With a sigh, he re-buttoned his shirt, put on his aviators, got up from the couch, and walked across the hall leading out of the living room. He turned the doorknob to be greeted by a familiar face, looking cheerful as always. The light from the lobby cast over him, silhouetting his tiny frame. He was wearing a buttoned-up blue vest over a white-collared shirt and black corduroy jeans. If it wasn't for his square-framed glasses and overbite, he could easily pass for a preppy private school student. The light from the tv in the background made his eyes flicker and glow like blue flame.

"Hi, dave! Happy to see me?"

_Is he some kind of mind reader or something? Shit. _ Dave was grateful that he'd managed to grab his shades before answering the door, because if he hadn't, John could probably read how flustered he was without blinking an eye. They stood, looking at each other at each other for a few moments, until Dave finally broke the silence.

"Listen," Dave began. There was a long pause before he continued. "I…I'm sorry about what happened a few days back, man. I haven't been able to apologize since you've been away from school since then. Sorry about my, uh…" He wanted to continue, but his freckled white face was in danger of reddening.

John gave him a perplexed look, then smiled sheepishly.

"Actually, I came here to apologize for seeming so uncomfortable before. I was just surprised is all." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other in the doorway, twiddling his index fingers around meekly. _Oh god, did I make him even more uncomfortable by bringing it up, _Dave thought to himself. He tried his best to maintain his poker face. He didn't want to take his chances. He'd learned from his experience with the jocks that it was always a bad idea.

John timidly entered the apartment, and walked past Dave to seat himself on the edge of the couch. Dave followed hesitantly, seating himself on the opposite end.

" I figured you'd be lonely, what with Bro being away on business and all," John said, scratching the back of his head shyly. "I hope you don't mind my company."

Dave smirked. "Why would I mind? We're best buds, aren't we?"

John's looked up and grinned widely, exposing his ridiculous ,yet endearing overbite. It was really beginning to grow on Dave.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Think you can take handle losing to me in the race to survive the zombie apocalypse?"  
"Fat chance, Egbert."

"Heheh, whatever you say, Dave. Just get the remotes and we'll see."

Dave climbed over the footstool and grabbed the controllers out from under the TV.

"Shall we begin?"

They both removed their glasses, and the game began. As soon as the signal to begin had sounded, Dave had already gotten ahead of John. John was having some difficulty getting past the first level, and he kept falling for traps and getting killed by monsters. He was absolutely awful at the game, but he made a pretty good show of acting like he wasn't. As they played, the distance between them got progressively smaller and smaller until John was resting his head on Dave's stomach, his slanted shoulders dwarfed by Dave's broad frame. They managed to get through an hour of straight game-play before Dave pressed the pause button.

"Aww, come on, Dave! I was about to beat you," John protested.

"I need to get some grub," Dave replied. "I'm starving. Do you want some?"

John nodded, and, suddenly aware of how close he was to Dave, backed away to the other side of the couch.

"Oh, uh,, sorry about that, Dave. I didn't mean to-"

Before John could finish, Dave pulled him in by the collar of his shirt and pressed John's lips against his. He kissed him passionately for a few moments, feeling the soft warmth of John's lips against his, then pulled away.

"I…I didn't mean to do that, either," he stammered.

Dave looked to the side and tried his best to hide how flush his face had become, to no avail. He got ready to stand up and escape to the kitchen, but he felt an arm wrap itself around his stomach, pulling him gently back down again.

Dave looked at john in surprise as he went in for another kiss. He placed his hands on John's shoulders, pulling him close. John pressed his lips against Dave's for what felt like eternity before they finally moved apart.

They lay there for a moment, holding each other tightly, resting their heads on each other's shoulders.

"So, uhh," John said softly into Dave's ear. "About that pizza.."

"Fuck the pizza," Dave muttered.

John giggled. "Alright, fine. So what do you want to do now?"

"I dunno. I sort of just want to stay here. Like this."

"Lame," John teased, as he slowly shifted his body into a more comfortable position. "Dave, you're such a wuss."

Normally, Dave would've given him a good punch on the shoulder for that. But instead, he just reached down to John's head, moving his bangs to the side as he looked deeply into his blue eyes.

"And you're a dork. But that's what makes us perfect for each other."

He


End file.
